I 
 
 A 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
 * 
 
 EMBRACING A DESCRIPTION OP TIIE 
 
 IMPROVEMENTS, &C. 
 
 WITH A FULL DESCRIFTrON OF 
 
 THE ACCLIMATING FEVER. 
 
 BY 
 
 ABMISTEAD MILLER, 
 
 A CITIZEN OF MONROVIA, LIBERIA. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 JOSEPH M. WILSON, 
 
 NO. Ill SOUTH TENTH STREET, BELOW CHESTNUT STREET. 
 
LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 A 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
 EMBRACING A DESCRIPTION OF THE 
 
 Climate, Soil fjrckrtioim, Animals, JItissionarjT Mori, 
 
 IMPROVEMENTS, &C. 
 
 WITH A FULL DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 THE ACCLIMATING FEVER. 
 
 BY 
 
 ARMISTEAD MILLER, 
 
 A CITIZEN OF MONROVIA, LIBERIA. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 JOSEPH M. WILSON, 
 
 NO. Ill SOUTH TENTH STREET, BELOW CHESTNUT STREET. 
 
 1859. 
 
NOTICE 
 
 The following letter will explain the object of this publica¬ 
 tion : 
 
 Oxford, Chester Co., Pa., Jariy. 3, 1859. 
 
 Dear Sir :—The writer of the following lecture is a student 
 of the Ashmun Institute; and having spent some seven years in 
 Liberia, he has been frequently called upon by his fellow-stu¬ 
 dents and others, to give his views in reference to that coun¬ 
 try, especially its suitableness as a home for the coloured man. 
 He is also a licentiate of the Presbytery of New Castle, con¬ 
 nected with the Old School Presbyterian Church, and is deemed 
 worthy of confidence in the statements he makes. The object 
 he has in view in publishing the lecture, is to give information 
 of his adopted country, to which he expects to return in May 
 next, with two other students of the Institute as ministers of 
 the gospel; and also to obtain means to assist his family, part 
 of whom emigrate with him. It is hoped the production will 
 be received with favour, and that the cost of publishing may 
 be amply repaid in the good accomplished, and the assistance 
 bestowed upon a worthy man, who expects soon to be a mis¬ 
 sionary in Africa. John M. Diceh:y. 
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 No doubt, but you have heard much about Liberia from time 
 to time, as we know that a great deal has been said, both pro 
 and con , in respect to this “ New Republicclaiming a pretty 
 general knowledge of things as they are, I feel no hesitancy 
 in asserting, that some things which you have heard both for 
 and against Liberia, were true; but that many others were 
 either wholly untrue, very highly coloured, or shamefully ex¬ 
 aggerated. 
 
 The avowed enemies to Liberia have done no more, effectu¬ 
 ally, to retard the progress of true prosperity in Liberia, than 
 has been done by the over zealous for the cause, whenever 
 they could touch an important string connected with their ovyn 
 interest. 
 
 The advocates of the one side, in many instances, without 
 ever consulting either truth or policy, have said all that entered 
 their brain; while many of the other side, determined not to 
 be repulsed, have fabricated accounts of Liberia, equally false, 
 ridiculous, and absurd. 
 
 It is not at all difficult to perceive, that neither of the above- 
 named parties are actuated by either love or hatred for Liberia, 
 or for any one, or any thing further than their own purposes 
 can be served thereby; and doubtless it might be set down as 
 a general rule, that the great mass of zealots on any subject, 
 who would fain set the world on fire, in order to turn things in a 
 certain channel, by strict examination, might soon discover in 
 the midst of all their noisy machinery, a main-spring, very 
 nearly related to the first law of nature. 
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
6 
 
 LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 The foundation, or introduction of the present lecture, to¬ 
 gether with the circumstances connected therewith, would ap¬ 
 pear necessarily to preclude any departure from the truth 
 whatever on my part. 
 
 In the first place, I promise to give you a description of 
 things as they are in Liberia, in contradistinction to all mis¬ 
 representations, whether pro or con. 
 
 We cannot disappoint you for want of a personal knowledge 
 of things, as they exist, in Liberia; for we are from the spot; 
 we have handled, we have tasted, we have seen,—whatever is 
 sweet to the taste, and pleasant to the eyes : and it would be 
 absurd to suppose, that in the midst of all the sweets, we had 
 wholly escaped the bitter; such is not the common course of 
 things in this life. 
 
 It is not at all probable that I shall vilify my country, for 
 all my interests are there. Liberia is my home—my only 
 home beneath the sun; upon her shores 1 hope to fall asleep 
 in death; beneath her soil I hope to rest my bones till the 
 resurrection; and thence to rise with tens of thousands, who 
 “ have fought the good fight, have kept the faith,” and con¬ 
 quered the last enemy. 
 
 Perhaps you will ask,—Why would ye die in Africa ? and 
 why seek a grave in that forgotten land ? 0 Africa ! Truly 
 
 art thou despoiled of thy glory and thy beauty; nevertheless, 
 the honoured bones of saints and sages—yea, the mortal re¬ 
 mains of kings and potentates—do rest beneath thy sod. 
 
 “ Land of the mighty dead, 
 
 Where science once displayed, 
 
 And art their charms : 
 
 Where awful Pharaohs swayed 
 Great nations who obeyed; 
 
 Where distant monarchs laid 
 Their vanquished arms.” 
 
 Liberia is in Africa, and Africa has been abundantly hon¬ 
 oured, even by the command of high heaven : the chaste Jo¬ 
 seph lived in Africa;—all Israel were saved from starvation 
 b}^ going to Africa;—Moses was born, nourished, and educated 
 in Africa;—our blessed Saviour himself was sent to Africa by 
 the command of God his Father; and there being sheltered 
 from the cruel tyranny of Herod, he died not with Rachel’s 
 children. But, notwithstanding that we have' said thus much 
 
LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 7 
 
 concerning Africa, still we have no disposition whatever to 
 speak more highly of Liberia than she deserves. There can be 
 nothing gained by so doing. Liberia is becoming more and 
 more conspicuous in the family of nations, and the time is just 
 at hand, when any man who would know the truth or falsity 
 of what he hears, may have an ocular demonstration of the 
 same for a very small sum: so many means are employed for 
 a quick and pleasant voyage to that distant land. 
 
 From the foregoing considerations, therefore, you have good 
 reason to believe that, in the first place, we will give you “ Li¬ 
 beria as she is to do which, we will begin with the geo¬ 
 graphical position. Many, and perhaps most of you have 
 studied geography, but I doubt whether you have given much 
 study to the map of Liberia; therefore, we shall feel no deli¬ 
 cacy in giving you the geographical particulars. 
 
 Liberia is on the west coast of Africa, and lies between 
 the parallels 3° and 10° North Latitude: and between the 
 Meridians 6° and 13° West Longitude from Greenwich. 
 We have about six hundred miles of sea-coast, stretching 
 from North-West to South-East. The interior line is not quite 
 so definite, being more distant from the sea-coast at some 
 points than at others; the most distant settlement from the 
 coast at present, is not more than fifty or sixty miles in a di¬ 
 rect line interiorwise ; but the propriety of interior settlements 
 is becoming more and more obvious, and has grown into a 
 topic of free discussion both by the citizens of Liberia, and her 
 most interested friends abroad. We will not attempt at pre¬ 
 sent to give the extent of the country in exact numbers, but 
 by a rough calculation, we will venture to say, that the whole 
 extent is from seventy-five, to one hundred thousand square 
 miles, more or less. 
 
 We have many very fine rivers of fresh water; the princi¬ 
 pal of which are the St. Paul’s, in Montserado county; the St. 
 John’s, in Grand Bassa county; the Sinou, in Sinou county; 
 the Cavalla, in Cape Palmas county; and running through 
 various portions of the Ilepublic, are the beautiful rivers of 
 Grand Cape Mount, Junk, Timbo, Cesters, Cape Palmas, &c. 
 Besides, creeks, brooks, or rivulets, are scattered here and 
 there throughout the entire country; in a word, Liberia is well 
 watered. If the adepts in geography should find any want of 
 harmony between the above account, and that which has been 
 
8 
 
 LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 given by geographers, the difficulty will be removed, when 
 they remember that the Liberians are a progressive people, and 
 that within the last few years, the borders of Liberia have 
 been essentially enlarged by the annexation of new territory. 
 
 Liberia, as her “ Bill of Rights” declares, u is a free, sover¬ 
 eign, and independent stateshe has adopted a republican 
 form of government, which differs from that of the United 
 States, only in the following particulars : Liberia is one state 
 divided into very large counties, and the government is cen¬ 
 tral ; there is but one Legislature, composed of a Senate, and 
 House of Representatives : each county is allowed two Sena¬ 
 tors, elected from their own county, by their own citizens, who 
 remain in office for a term of four years; and each county is 
 allowed one Representative to begin with, and one additional 
 for every ten thousand inhabitants, but these remain in office 
 for a term of only two years. The Senators and Representatives 
 of Liberia, when “ in Legislature assembled,” correspond to the 
 Congress of the United States; and all laws and ordinances in 
 the whole Republic, except those of a municipal character, are 
 enacted by this one Legislature. Our President and Vice 
 President are elected by a majority of votes, for a term of two 
 years at the time; none of cur judges are elected by a popular 
 vote, but all the members of ihe judiciary, even down to a jus¬ 
 tice of the peace, are nominated by the President, and elected 
 by the Senate. 
 
 This government is altogether in the hands of our own peo¬ 
 ple, and no one else is allowed the least participation therein: 
 every male citizen of twenty-one years old is allowed the right 
 to vote, provided he possesses real estate, and claims to have 
 one drop of African blood circulating in his veins. This is an 
 all-important qualification; for under the present Constitution, 
 no others can be allowed the elective franchise, under any 
 possible circumstances. Inasmuch as I have found no little 
 opposition to this particular clause of the Constitution of Li¬ 
 beria, I beg leave to make the following explanation: This 
 prohibition did not arise, and does not continue, on account 
 of any prejudice of colour whatever; but was considered by 
 the framers of the Constitution, and is still considered by 
 Liberian statesmen, as a matter of the purest policy, in behalf 
 of our own people. Liberia is a new country, and the 
 
LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 0 
 
 pioneers of our people to that country are men of only moderate 
 circumstances; the truth is, none go from this country to that 
 with riches, and the only men we have, that may be called rich, 
 with any degree of propriety, have gained their fortunes there. 
 Now if foreign capitalists were encouraged to cast their lots 
 among us, it is evident that they would employ their capital 
 against ours, and the most wealthy of our citizens could not 
 begin to cope with such an unequal power; thus the very first 
 and best designs of the new Republic would be thwarted, and 
 Liberia could no longer be called “ the asylum for the op¬ 
 pressed.” 
 
 Since I have been in the United States, several coloured 
 gentlemen have given me their objections to such a prohibi¬ 
 tion : and if I had answered them according to my feelings at 
 the time, I certainly would have advised them to remain in 
 this country, if they had not as yet felt the inconvenience of 
 an opposing power; no man is more likely to make a good 
 citizen of Liberia, than he who is most dissatisfied with his 
 condition in the United States. The time will come, and is 
 fast approaching, when our doors will be thrown wide open, 
 so that any man from any country may become a citizen fully 
 enfranchised; but would it not be presumption on the part of 
 our little Republic, to invite a power at once from which citi¬ 
 zens have so lately made their escape ? Let our people first es¬ 
 tablish themselves, make themselves capital equal to that of 
 others, and then may they welcome the men of every nation 
 to all the rights of fellow-citizens: and not until then. 
 
 Having digressed thus far from the point, for the sake of 
 explanation, we again return to our plain method of giving 
 things as they are. 
 
 We have in Liberia a warm climate, purely tropical, but not 
 a hot climate as some people suppose ; we would be frightened, 
 and astonished to see mercury as high as I am told it some¬ 
 times reaches in this country ; it is seldom as low as sixty, and 
 I think I never have seen it as high as ninety-five; according 
 to my very best recollection, it ranges for the most part from 
 sixty-six to eighty-six, being a variation of only twenty de¬ 
 grees, and it never varies more than twenty-five degrees. 
 Thus you will observe the uniformity of our climate; and the 
 
 great error of those, who regard it as being naturally unhealth} . 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 I am disposed to think that the most skilful physicians would 
 decide, that such a temperature, with so little variation, must 
 naturally be favourable to health, as a general rule. I do not 
 think there is a people on the whole face of the globe, who 
 are more robust and healthy, and better developed physically, 
 than are the native Africans, despite all their wretched habits 
 of heathenism, which would appear altogether sufficient to has¬ 
 ten the destruction of both soul and body, still they enjoy al¬ 
 most unbroken health, and live to an incredible age; so much 
 so, that it is said, hyperbolically , that they never die, except 
 they are killed. What we have said of native Africans however, 
 or all persons born in that country, cannot be said of those 
 who emigrate to Africa from other countries, whether European 
 or American : very nearly every man, woman, or child, who 
 emigrates to Africa from the United States, must pass through 
 a process of acclimation, commonly called the “ Acclimating 
 fever.” 
 
 This fever is more severe in some cases than in others, and 
 it is supposed that about three per cent of ail the emigrants 
 from the United States escape the “ Acclimating fever” en¬ 
 tirely, and pass not only the usual time for acclimating, but a 
 number of years, without a single day’s sickness; these are 
 considered peculiar constitutions, and it is difficult to ascertain 
 in what this peculiarity consists; for there are some things 
 very remarkable about the “ Acclimating fever,” many very 
 weak constitutions have been completely brought up, and 
 wonderfully invigorated, after having passed through the “ Ac¬ 
 climating feverin many cases it appears to have the power 
 of refining, and often sets its subjects free from all their former 
 maladies. 
 
 There is nothing frightful in the “ Acclimating process as 
 % general thing, it is the simplest form of “ Intermittents;” and 
 with proper care, is no more to be dreaded than the measles : 
 indeed, according to my judgment, the measles is by far the 
 more dangerous of the two ; this may appear strange, but what 
 is more strange, the measles, as a general thing, has no admit¬ 
 tance into our country at all; and not only measles and the 
 like, but also epidemics of every kind, seem to meet a resist¬ 
 ance as soon as they reach our shores. 
 
 When persons go from the United States to Liberia, they 
 
LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 11 
 
 usually take the “Acclimating fever” within about three or four 
 weeks after their arrival; there are exceptions however to 
 this general rule: for we have known persons to remain in Li¬ 
 beria for the space of three, four, five, and even six months, 
 before they have felt the real effects of the “ Acclimating fever.” 
 
 The process usually begins with a chill followed by a fever, 
 after which the patient feels about as well as ever he did; but 
 just about the time he thinks he has gotten quite through his 
 course of acclimation, this forgotten friend calls to see him 
 again; and after his second and third visit, the patient begins 
 to remember that he is in Africa; not less than thirty or forty 
 degrees to the southward of his native home ; under a vertical 
 sun; in the midst of perpetual spring; surrounded by an un¬ 
 broken succession of fruits and fragrant flowers; and therefore 
 he concludes that it is nothing more than right that he should 
 pay his footing. It is by these repeated visits of the same old 
 friend, that the patient is sometimes weakened and vested, 
 and not by the violence of the attack, and when the effects are 
 removed by the free use of tonics, preceded by other neces¬ 
 sary medicines, the patient recovers with astonishing speed. 
 It is true, there are exceptions to this general rule; as in the 
 case of some w T ho are convalescent for several months, and 
 others who never recover. 
 
 We are decidedly of the opinion however, that the death of 
 no one can be charged exclusively to the “ Acclimating fever.” 
 In the multitudes of people that are emigrating from this coun¬ 
 try to Liberia every year, it is nothing more than reasonable 
 that many should die; where can you find a community in this 
 country of five hundred or a thousand persons, that does not 
 lose one or more of them in the course of a year? We doubt 
 as to whether there be any such communities in the United 
 States. Surely then, it should not be considered strange, if 
 out of the constant flow of emigration from this country to 
 Liberia, some persons should die, since even nature itself w r ould 
 require it. 
 
 But there is one other circumstance, which will account for 
 more of the mortality during the acclimating process than all 
 things else combined; and it is this : The great mass of the 
 people that emigrate from this country to Liberia now-a-days, 
 as a general thing, are very poorly instructed; I do not mean 
 
12 
 
 LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 to say that there are no intelligent, educated, and well-refined 
 people among the hundreds and thousands that are flowing into 
 the country, almost in a continuous stream, but I do mean 
 to say that they are greatly in the minority; and hence, as 
 we were about to say, the great mass of these emigrants are 
 so poorly instructed, that they do not know the laws of their 
 own nature, much less do they observe them, either in sickness 
 or health. The wonder is, that such people should ever pass 
 through the acclimating process without destroying their con¬ 
 stitutions for life, and yet to the utter astonishment of the 
 better informed, many of them become the very pictures of 
 health; such is the nature of the “ Acclimating fever.” 
 
 Physicians are not altogether decided as to the prime cause 
 of this fever, but it is a very general opinion, and we think a 
 pretty well-established fact, that the malaria , or miasma, is the 
 principal cause of this sickness. 
 
 Just think for a moment, of a country covered with a dense 
 forest of perpetual green, and lying, for aught we know, in this 
 undisturbed condition, ever since the days of Adam, or at least, 
 ever since the waters of the flood were removed. I do not 
 mean to say that such is certainly the case, but I am wholly 
 ignorant of anything to the contrary, and would be most happy 
 to receive instruction on the subject from any one who holds 
 himself prepared to settle the point. We know that from the 
 very cradle, learning arose and flourished in Africa, and at one 
 time, the most powerful nations on the globe were in Africa, 
 while some of the greatest men that ever lived, were of African 
 blood, and lived, laboured, and died in Africa. But we can 
 go to the very spot where these things were displayed, and 
 we know that they were not in western Africa; the truth is, 
 we know very little about the past history of that portion of 
 Africa; therefore we still hold, that for centuries and tens of 
 centuries, a mass of decayed matter has been constantly accu¬ 
 mulating. It is this, beyond all doubt it is this that brings 
 about an intermittent fever during the acclimating process : 
 and I hold, that it affords great consolation to know, that just 
 in proportion as we clear up the country, and keep it under 
 good and regular cultivation, just in such proportion will the 
 “ Acclimating fever” be vanquished, and not only our own citi 
 zens, but visitors from any quarter may fully enjoy the natu 
 
LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 13 
 
 ral sweets of our delightful climate, wholly unmolested by any 
 form of intermittents. 
 
 The same means are used for the cure of the “ Acclimating 
 fever” in Liberia, as for the fever and ague in the United States, 
 and I am very much in hopes that a remedy prepared by a 
 Mr. Edward S. Morris, of Philadelphia, and known as “ Pas- 
 challs Fever and Ague mixture,” when properly introduced, 
 will tend to lessen the severity of the attacks, if it does not 
 entirely prevent and check the disease. So well persuaded 
 am I that it will produce a good effect in persons under the 
 influence of these fevers, having used it myself, that I have 
 already ordered some of it to be sent there. There is one 
 peculiarity about Mr. Morris’s preparation, differing from most 
 all other proprietary medicines, and that is, “It is good for 
 nothing else but for the cure of these miasmatic diseases,” to 
 use Mr. Morris’s own language. 
 
 The soil of Liberia is fertile without exception; and some 
 of it, yea, the greater portion of it is considered the most pro¬ 
 lific in the world; all the tropical productions attain their 
 perfection with less care, and in a shorter time, than is usual 
 in any other country, and by a very little attention, our coun¬ 
 try may be emphatically called, the land of fruits and fragrant 
 flowers. We have many indigenous products, that are most 
 valuable; such as the cam-wood, palm-oil, and ivory, with 
 many others too numerous to mention. 
 
 I do not know that the palm-oil and cam-wood can be ob¬ 
 tained from any other country than Africa; but I know that 
 there are vessels from almost every commercial nation under 
 the sun, engaged on our coast, in the palm-oil, cam-wood, and 
 ivory trade. There are millions of gallons of palm-oil, and a 
 vast quantity of cam-wood and ivory, exported from the coast 
 of Africa every year; and there are merchants of England, 
 France, America, and Germany, who are piling fortune upon 
 fortune by the advantage they have in this trade; and they 
 take good care to say but little about it, for fear of competi¬ 
 tion. Wheremre our capitalists? This wealth is ours, but the 
 men of other nations are constantly, though slyly, removing it. 
 Have they not taken away our forefathers ? and is that not 
 enough ? Or, shall we remain dormant while they remove 
 
14 
 
 LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 our inheritance also ? In all honesty and earnestness, I do 
 think it is high time now to awake out of sleep. 
 
 Our climate and soil are congenial to the growth of almost 
 every plant of any considerable importance in the world. 
 The staple products for the present, may be considered hut 
 four, viz: sugar, coffee, rice, and cotton; each of which, as we 
 believe, may he raised in greater abundance, and with less 
 trouble, than in any other country in the world; besides these, 
 the very best article of Indian corn, or maize, sweet-potatoes, 
 and the bean and pea of every type, may be raised in rich 
 abundance for home consumption. 
 
 Wheat has never been fairly tried in Liberia; but there is 
 no doubt that as soon as the settlements extend further into 
 the interior, and due attention is paid to agriculture, that ex¬ 
 cellent wheat may be produced from the grain usually called 
 spring wheat. Agriculture has been shamefully neglected in 
 our country, and the citizens have only lately begun to turn 
 their attention to that department; but the farmer is by far the 
 most independent man in the country : having no winter to con¬ 
 tend with, he is alternately sowing and reaping the year round, 
 and I verily believe that Liberia will become, at no very dis¬ 
 tant day, one of the most agricultural nations on the globe ; 
 and manufactures will necessarily follow ; already are there 
 powerful steam sugar mills in actual operation; and very soon 
 the cotton gin, the coffee-huller, the rice machine, and the like, 
 will be loudly called for. 
 
 Our people, as yet, have not introduced the labour of the 
 horse to any considerable extent: oxen are the principal beasts 
 of burden, and they are not very extensively employed as yet; 
 but both the horse and the ox are becoming more and more 
 common. There are great numbers of these animals but a few 
 miles interior of our boundaries, and may be purchased of the 
 native inhabitants of the country for a very small sum: be¬ 
 sides, many of our own citizens are raising very fine herds of 
 cows, hogs, sheep, and goats; but they might be raised in 
 much greater numbers if we had men, even of small capital, 
 who were willing to employ it in that way; but it is to be re¬ 
 gretted that nearly all the capital of Liberia is invested in 
 commerce. 
 
 Some people in this country seem to have very contracted 
 
LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 15 
 
 views as it regards the animals of Africa, but in the meantime 
 they are very inconsistent when speaking on the subject; with 
 one breath they will argue, that inasmuch as our cattle, sheep, 
 hogs, goats, &c., along the coast are small, therefore, the coun¬ 
 try will not produce these animals so large as they are in 
 other countries; but in the very next breath, they will tell us 
 of our huge snakes and other reptiles; they will speak at large 
 also of the elephant, the hippopotamus, the unicorn, the alli¬ 
 gator, and the lion. Now we say that our country does pro¬ 
 duce these huge animals, but she also produces the other ani¬ 
 mals referred to, and beyond all manner of doubt, if the same 
 attention was paid to our interior cattle, that other nations give 
 to theirs, they would compare well with any cattle in the 
 world; and we are most happy to record that this fact will 
 soon be tested. 
 
 The wild animals of Liberia are not at all what they are 
 represented to be by these day-dreamers; and therefore, the 
 most charitable view that we can take of their conduct, will 
 lead us to conclude, that these representations, or rather mis¬ 
 representations, are made with deliberate aim to frighten the 
 timid, and discourage the noble-hearted. We have never seen 
 a lion within our bounds; the elephant has left the civilized 
 portions of the country long since; you might live in Liberia 
 three-score years and ten, and never see a boa-constrictor, if 
 they were not kept by individuals for show; and so may we 
 say of all the ferocious animals of Africa, for however danger¬ 
 ous they may be in the wilds of Africa, yet be ye assured that 
 God has never intended that civilization and Christianity should 
 be beaten back by the beasts of the forest. That part of 
 Africa that we occupy, has been specially protected against 
 all poisonous reptiles and insects, by the special agency of a 
 small ant, called the “ driver;” these ants, although destructive 
 to so many other animals, have no facilities whatever for injur¬ 
 ing man. 
 
 We have neither time nor space in which to give our views 
 at large, upon the prospects for the future in Liberia; but the 
 description that we have given of things as they are, will cause 
 you naturally to come to some conclusion respecting the future 
 of that country. 
 
 To those who may have favourable hopes concerning the 
 
1G 
 
 LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 future of Liberia, we would add a few more encouragements. 
 There are schools and churches scattered all over the civilized 
 portions of Liberia; and religion stands first in point of impor¬ 
 tance, while education stands next. Great efforts have been 
 made lately by the missionaries and citizens of Liberia, to 
 bring a greater number of the heathen population under the 
 influence of the glorious gospel of the Son of God, our common 
 Saviour; hundreds of the native youths have been brought 
 into our Sabbath-schools, and as many as can be supported 
 are enjoying the benefits of our day-schools. Precious are the 
 privileges that have been extended to the heathen within the 
 bounds of Liberia, by the establishment of that little Republic, 
 as a beacon-light to guide them out of gross darkness, aided 
 by the willing and efficient labours of God’s missionaries. 
 Well may Liberians repeat these lines: 
 
 “ Shine, life-creating ray, 
 
 Proclaim approaching day, 
 
 Throw wide thy blaze ; 
 
 Lo! savage Hottentot, 
 
 Bosjasman from his cot, 
 
 And nations long forgot, 
 
 Astonished gaze. 
 
 \ 
 
 All hail, Liberia! hail! 
 
 Favoured of God, all hail! 
 
 Hail, happy band! 
 
 From virtue ne’er remove : 
 
 By peace, and truth, and love, 
 
 And wisdom from above, 
 
 So slialt thou stand.” 
 
 The different denominations of professing Christians in Libe¬ 
 ria, are the Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Episco¬ 
 palians. These are not divided among themselves, as they are 
 in many places; but as a general thing each denomination 
 maintains a unity, and all the different denominations are in 
 communion with each other, as much so as in an}^ other coun¬ 
 try, and perhaps more so. You may learn the membership 
 of each, as well as the sum of the whole, by reference to the 
 last reports of the different Boards of Foreign Missions, which 
 will also give the number of missionaries, churches, and mis¬ 
 sion-schools, within the bounds of Liberia. 
 
 We have set down these different denominations according 
 
LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 17 
 
 to their numerical order. The Methodists outnumber any two 
 of the rest, and have laid out a vast amount of money in car¬ 
 rying on their mission operations; they are doing a good work, 
 and have entered into it with heart and hand. The Baptists 
 stand next in point of numbers. We have put the Presbyte¬ 
 rians before the Episcopalians, but we are not certain as to 
 which numbers the more. One thing we do know, that the 
 Episcopalians have expended more money in Liberia than the 
 Presbyterians; they build good and substantial mission-houses, 
 as well as churches, wherever they begin operations, and there¬ 
 fore their expenses will not increase by the lapse of time. 
 They have a Bishop in Liberia, who has lived and laboured 
 with great success in the same place for more than twenty 
 years; there is no man more beloved and relied on than 
 Bishop Payne of Cape Palmas, and it would appear from his 
 untiring diligence, that no man has ever had the work more at 
 heart: 
 
 These several denominations have their High Schools, as 
 well as common schools, in different parts of the Republic: of 
 which we may mention as No. 1, the Alexander High School 
 at Monrovia, the Methodist High School at the same place, 
 and a similar institution of that denomination at Cape Palmas; 
 also three schools under the Episcopalians in Cape Palmas 
 county, two or three similar schools in Montserado county and 
 Grand Bassa, under the same denomination: the Baptists have 
 High Schools at Grand Bassa and Monrovia, besides primary 
 schools at different points. All the schools under the different 
 denominations in Liberia, receive their chief support from the 
 Missionary Boards and Societies of the United States. The 
 English mission stations are chiefly at Sierra-Leone, and other 
 points outside of Liberia. The missionary work in and about 
 Liberia, seems to be entirely committed to the people of the 
 United States and Liberia; and according to our experienc* 
 for several years, we believe that there is not a more effectual 
 door of entrance to the heathen in Africa, than through Liberia. 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 LIBERIA DESCRIBED. 
 
 LIBERIA MISSION.—ALEXANDER HIGH-SCHOOL. 
 
 EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM MR. EDWARD W. BLYDEN. 
 
 Dear Sir —Your kind and interesting letter by the u G. C. Ackerly.” 
 dated July 27th, has been duly received. Please to accept my sincere 
 thanks for kindly attending to my request with reference to my mother. 
 In obedience to your instruction, I hasten to drop you a few lines relative 
 to the condition of the schools. 
 
 During the two months of Rev. Mr. Williams’s absence at Cape Palmas, 
 the schools, as you are aware, were united under my supervision and in¬ 
 struction. The English department contained between thirty and forty 
 scholars, divided into classes in spelling, reading, geography, English gram¬ 
 mar, and arithmetic. The classical department contained nine scholars, 
 divided into two classes, first and second. The studies in the first class 
 were Latin, Greek grammar and Reader, and algebra; of the second, Latin 
 grammar, and arithmetic. 
 
 On the return of Mr. Williams, the schools were again separated, and the 
 English department placed under the tuition of Mr. Witherspoon, one of the 
 scholars of the first class in the classical department, whom I have requested 
 to forward his report to you by the “ Benson.” Six of the most advanced boys 
 in the English department were transferred to the Alexander High-School—a 
 temporary expedient to relieve Mr. Witherspoon of too great labour, in view 
 of his recitations in his class in the High-School. But I think from the 
 progress of the boys, it were well for them to continue permanently in the 
 High-School. 
 
 There are now in the Alexander High-School sixteen boys, divided into 
 three classes. The studies of the first class are Greek, Latin, algebra, and 
 history; of the second, Latin grammar and Reader, and history, and arith¬ 
 metic ; of the third, spelling, reading, geography, English grammar, arith¬ 
 metic. Vocal music is taught every other day immediately after the regu¬ 
 lar exercises. 
 
 It has always been the policy of the Alexander High-School, in the case 
 of new students, to give special and even exclusive attention to the disci¬ 
 plinary studies, mathematics, and the languages, leaving such studies as in¬ 
 volve merely information to the later stages of progress. And I have found 
 —though I used to murmur much—in my own experience, and from the 
 experience of others, that such a course was highly necessary and beneficial. 
 While the students of the Monrovia Academy, where a contrary policy was 
 adopted, that of paying attention to many studies at once, are in general 
 superficial in almost everything, the graduated students of the Alexander 
 High-School—if you will allow me to except myself—are looked upon as 
 indispensable in their various avocations. For these reasons I intend to con¬ 
 fine my new scholars to Latin and arithmetic for a while. 
 
 But notwithstanding the community have before them the evidences 
 above referred to, of the importance of our system of instruction, yet not a 
 few of our dull ones—sad to relate !—endeavour to infuse into the minds of 
 some of the boys who attend our schools, disparaging ideas of Latin, Greek, 
 and mathematics; so that, besides overcoming their natural indisposition to 
 study, they have to endure the opposition of a public opinion, whose real 
 value they have not yet learned to appreciate. 
 
JOSEPH M. WILSON, 
 
 tb blister. ^aoltselltr, ani Jitaliimcr, 
 
 No. Ill South Tenth St., below Chestnut St., Philada* 
 
 PUBLISHER OF 
 
 THE PRESBYTERIAN MAGAZINE, a monthly religious Journal, edited 
 by Rev. 0. Van Rennselaer, D.D. Terms, $1.00 per annum, or six copies for five 
 dollars, Also, 
 
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 ten Portraits on Steel, and other illustrations—making a crown octavo of 339 pages. 
 Price $1.50. 
 
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 This is a fine royal octavo volume, containing the operations of the year, of each 
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 the current year, &c. Price $1.00. 
 
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